Wyatt, Slingshot is launching new foil sets in April. To what extent were you involved in the development?
My tasks as Brand Manager are varied. Fortunately, I am also very active in product development and testing, so I get out on the water a lot. Our windsurfing package called "Phantasm" will be launched in April. The centrepiece is a 103-centimetre-long carbon mast. That's also the most difficult thing about building foils - making a good and, above all, stiff mast.
Why is it so difficult? What is important?
Compared to other foil sports such as wingsurfing or kitesurfing, when windfoiling you stand very far out on the wide tail, which gives you a lot of leverage and puts more power on the foil and, of course, the mast. If the foil mast is too soft, everything becomes spongy and indirect. The mast of the Phantasm therefore consists of two carbon cores, which in turn are connected by high-quality carbon layers. We have also reworked the connection between the mast and the fuselage.
What options are available for the connection?
Where the mast sits on the fuselage, it is even wider, the contact surface is therefore large and the screw connection is extremely solidly dimensioned. This stiffens the connection enormously.
The shape of the front wing is reminiscent of your Infinity 76, a tried and tested wing for cruising that is used in your cheaper sets. Is the impression deceptive?
The front wing is indeed reminiscent of the Infinity 76, which is very popular. Like our foils in general, the Phantasm is aimed at windfoilers who primarily want to cruise and take off early, practise manoeuvres such as jibes, duck jibes or 360s or make their first jumps. However, the front wing of the Phantasm is a further development of the Infinity 76.
The Infinity 76 is known for taking off early, but is certainly not one of the rockets. What differences will you notice?
The lift on start-up is comparable to that of the Infinity 76, but the fact that the front wing of the Phantasm is slightly slimmer and the profile slightly thinner has the main effect of reducing drag, and the wing now runs much more freely and sportily, especially at high speeds. The thickest point of the wing is now further back, which also has a positive effect on the speed potential. I've already travelled at 26 knots with it, which is just under 50 km/h - that's really fast.
Will the Phantasm Foil be the only new product this year?
Packages for windfoiling and wingsurfing will be launched in April, followed by a new, modular foil kit in the summer, in which individual components can of course be exchanged.
Crossover material for several foil disciplines such as windfoiling, SUP foiling and wingsurfing are very much in vogue. Can your foils be used across disciplines?
Yes, definitely. All Phantasm components such as front wings, masts and fuselages are compatible. So if you want, you can retrofit your windfoil with a different front wing and shorter fuselage and then go wingsurfing with it. The Phantasm Windsurf Package will initially be launched with the long 103 cm mast, followed later by packages with shorter masts (92 & 72 centimetres), which will also be slightly cheaper.
Here are the technical specifications of the Slingshot Phantasm Windsurf 730 Package
- Mast length (carbon): 103 cm
- Wingspan front wing (carbon): 73 cm
- Tail wing span: 40 cm
- Fuselage length (aluminium): 87.2 cm
- Price: 2319 Euro
- Info: www.slingshotsports.com
